


the golden mean

by vyridian



Series: the spindle and the spinning wheel [3]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Fluff, One Shot, One-Shot, Romance, Smut, romantic feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-18
Updated: 2015-09-18
Packaged: 2018-04-21 07:59:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4821425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vyridian/pseuds/vyridian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A short drabble about Cullen/Trevelyan. I wanted to write some happy smut to break out of my grim streak</p>
            </blockquote>





	the golden mean

She doesn't really believe in faerytales, but for the sake of argument if she did, he would be the hero who rides in on a shining steed.

He is sunshine and lion roars and she can't help the schoolgirl giddiness that bubbles up in her stomach every time his amber eyes meet her own silvery pair.

They are opposites, she notes.

He is golden, open, amusingly shy at times, and his eyes can sometimes take on a far away look that reveals he is haunted by some dark thing. He openly speaks to her about his life. The stories of his family make them feel like people she has known all her life and she can conjure up false memories of him as a child, as if she were there with him the whole time. He has no real social standing, but she only sees a king when the sun illuminates his blonde locks and gives him an ethereal crown.

She is shadows and moonlight, raven hair, secretive, and the worst thing to have ever happened to her glows softly on her left hand. She is not so inclined to tell him about House Trevelyan and she does not have many fond memories of her childhood to share. She is detached, something she must have inherited directly from her parents. She tells him instead of her time in the Circle and she smiles sadly at him when he asks if she made many friends there.

Slowly, she begins to feel more grounded and less like someone who only exists in the sidelines. He awakens feelings in her that anchor her to reality and though a part of her is terrified, she welcomes it. It feels good to laugh and actually feel it down to her toes, to smile and feel the warm glow spread through her in genuine happiness. Even the grief that comes, as it is likely to in this chaotic time, is something she is grateful for.

In time he tells her about what happened to him. She listens, her heart becoming heavy for him, wishing she could take this burden away. She is his strength when he is weak and she makes a silent vow to never let him suffer this alone again.

They compliment each other, despite these differences, or perhaps _because_ of them. Together they fill in all the gaps that the other lacks, melding perfectly into each other.

And oh how she loves it when he fills her gaps.

He holds himself back at first, but she urges him on with her burning kisses and whispered pleas.

It's nothing like she has experienced before. She has had sex, but never has she felt so worshiped and adored as she does when his hands run over her and his eyes regard her as if she were Andraste herself. She surrenders to him, letting her guard drop completely, and giving herself completely.

It is the first night they spend together and she wakes before him to find him calling out in his sleep. Her lithe fingers caress him, brushing off the beads of sweat that form on his forehead.

"Cullen," she whispers gently, coaxing him back to the waking world.

His eyes open and he looks around wildly before his gaze focuses on her. Something flutters in her heart when she sees him visibly relax at the sight of her.

He looks embarrassed and she cannot bear it.

"I love you." she tells him for the first time, her heart quivering at the danger those words carry.

The second between that and his reply stretches forever. but his face breaks into a radiant smile and he takes her hand and holds it to his chest.

"I love you, too."

Every time she is with him she pretends for a spell that none of the chaos that surrounds them is really happening.

The night of the ball at the Winter Palace leaves her exhausted and somber. She finds herself alone on a balcony, fiddling with the sleeves of the crimson velvet gown she changed into. 

 _You can't very well go around in that bloodstained uniform,_ Leliana tells her as she ushers her into a private room and unveils the box stamped with the seal of Val Royeaux's expert tailor.

She is reflecting bitterly on the events of the evening when he interrupts.

He is handsome and gallant as only he can be, something she knows (much to her annoyance) that everyone else has noticed. The formal attire only enhances his good looks, something of a feat as it looked silly on just about everyone else. 

He takes her hand gently in his own and they dance to the sound of violin and laughter. There is magic woven in the twilight air, and she is a princess for one night. Her silver eyes twinkle like stars as she looks up at his face and sees him looking back at her adoringly.

He has seen much of war and death and it haunts him, lurking behind his eyes every time they convene about the War Table, plotting missions.

She finds him one afternoon praying fervently in the chapel and he confides that he prays for her.

_The thought of losing you..._

A though that apparently dogs him until he sees her bloodied but very much lively self standing victorious after the battle with Corypheus.

She sees him before he sees her. He is pale, panicked, his eyes darting wildly looking for marble skin and black hair. Her heart sings when his eyes meet hers and relief washes over to him. She staggers over to him, throwing her arms around him, feeling her feet leave the ground as he picks her up and crushes her to his chest.

They stand together on her balcony back at Skyhold that evening, enjoying the newly won peace. 

Gilded rays of the sinking sun bathe them both and she sinks back against him, feeling utterly content and lighthearted for the first time in a long while.

She believes, confidently, nothing will ever top this moment.

"Marry me." he says, two years later.

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you like one-shots or my writing in general, please check out the other stories in my series "the spindle and the spinning wheel" which is currently just a small collection of one-shots I have written. As always, thank you for the kudos and feedback. You are all quite lovely


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